Results 29,101-29,120 of 35,973 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister of State would make my day if he were to accept it. I believe the wrong Minister is sitting opposite me, although strange things happened yesterday when the Minister accepted an Opposition amendment. The Minister of State should not be outdone by the Minister; he could grab the headlines by accepting the amendment. The amendment would require the Minister to prepare and lay...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I stress again that I support the imposition of a levy. When one introduces a measure in any finance bill, those that will be affected by it will always make their views known, and rightly so. Is there anything to be concerned about in terms of the possibility of financial institutions withdrawing from the State, curtailing services or passing this levy on to their customers? Have the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: What about the question of them passing on the levy to their customers? Has it been made clear to the Department that this is what they intend to do?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Would this be applicable to those who have paid the local property tax and have ---

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The local property tax is a self-assessment tax.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome the fact that this issue is being dealt with in this Finance Bill, as was recommended by the Magdalen Commission report. That report recommended that payments, whether lump sum or other, would be tax free. It is sad and must be acknowledged that since the apology from the Taoiseach to these women - and as we discuss this Bill today and its implications for the compensation...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: What will accrue from this 0.15%?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Is that annually?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister cannot have a budget next year and use the €135 million to pay off whatever measures he will introduce or just to reduce our deficit if he has to have it as a contingent liability. Will the Minister ring-fence that money for the pensions industry? If we have a pensions crisis, such as that in Waterford Crystal, we will ask how we do this and know this money will be...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: It just sounds good that we are tapping the pensions industry to help to pay for potential failures in pensions.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: It is not being ring-fenced for that purpose.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome this levy on financial institutions. As the committee will see from the amendment which has been ruled out of order and which I discussed with the Minister earlier, we should not allow AIB or Bank of Ireland to avail of section 33 and we should have increased their levy if they were able to profit from what we have done in section 33. Did any financial institution which would be...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I disagree with this as well. The sector argues that we should get rid of the 1% stamp duty across the board, as Deputy Michael McGrath suggested. I fundamentally disagree with that but the sector will make arguments that it is good for investment, business and the economy. If one believes that point in respect of this section, why not believe it for the rest? I disagree with the route...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 93: In page 82, to delete lines 14 and 15 and substitute the following:“(b) 0.50 per cent of the chargeable amount for the year 2014 and 0 per cent in 2015 and all subsequent years.”.”.Can I hear the response of the Minister of State?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: There has been much discussion about the levy, which was introduced originally to fund a number of initiatives, including the extension of the 9% VAT rate, which is to be welcomed but will require money that was not budgeted for. That must come from the pensions industry. The extension of the 9% VAT rate does not does not need a 0.75% levy on the pension industry. It does not even need a...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I cannot imagine we will still be calling it a jobs initiative in five years' time. The levy will continue at that point. This is tapping into the sector and the money will be sloshing around in Revenue accounts and will pay for X, Y or Z whenever we need to use the money. The Minister of State referred to the pension industry and the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, has made...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: We will not tear the backside out of this issue as it was discussed last year; the Minister of State has given the same response, word for word. If nothing else, the Minister of State is consistent.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister of State is not being institutionalised.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Do not worry, I will do so. I can be persistent. I am making the same points I made last year. The process would not be overly burdensome. I would be the last to apply additional layers of bureaucracy as we should shed bureaucracy from the agricultural community, with efficient regulations to replace the overly burdensome red tape that we have. There is the issue of asking any contractor...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: My amendment also allows for that. It is not an opposite idea, as mentioned by the Chairman.